Provide a clear understanding of where work is happening in 5 key focus areas for WHS research in Australia now, the strength of the current evidence, where there are missing evidence or gaps to guide future research opportunities and efforts, and whether there are further opportunities beyond the identified focus areas. 

The Requirement

Purpose

The purpose of this procurement activity is to deliver a coordinated mapping of the existing research to determine where there may be critical knowledge gaps against anticipated challenges for the future of work and workplaces, and to help guide future research towards the areas of greatest evidence needs and impact for improvements to WHS and workers’ compensation in Australia.

Outcome

The Supplier must provide the Customer with a clear understanding of where work is happening in 5 key focus areas for WHS research in Australia now, the strength of the current evidence, where there are missing evidence or gaps to guide future research opportunities and efforts, and whether there are further opportunities beyond the identified focus areas.

Research focus areas

One of the key functions for the Customer is the conducting and publishing of research. Its invigorated Research Strategy section highlights 5 anticipated focus areas for research, based on strategic research priorities identified by the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2023, the National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030, and through stakeholder consultations. These are:

• Psychosocial harm prevention and recovery – effective systemic controls to reduce psychosocial harm in workplaces and enable faster recovery when it does occur.

• Advances in technology – technologies (e.g. hazard monitoring, automation and artificial intelligence) that can create health and safety risks, inform policy approaches, and/or enhance health and safety outcomes.

• Shifting mindsets around WHS fundamentals – behaviours and mindsets that increase understanding and lift capability and fulfilment of fundamental duties and obligations for risk management and injury recovery (across small businesses to large enterprises, and workers to senior leaders).

• Changing nature of work – ensuring safety regulation and compensation frameworks to keep pace with the changing nature of work.

• Effectiveness of systems and frameworks – understanding the effects and impacts of changes to legislative frameworks and policy evidence.

Across each of these focus areas, the Supplier will also need to consider how to identify emerging and innovative developments and the needs of specific workers in vulnerable contexts (i.e. where individual or workplace characteristics are associated with higher risk of harm).

Deliverables

Specific deliverable(s) for this procurement activity include:

• Project plan (draft and final)

• Horizon scan methodology and taxonomy (individual ones for each focus area) (draft and final)

• Stakeholder consultation at a specified time/date (i.e. 9-10 September 2025) (and/or an agreed additional or alternative time/date/activity)

• Scoping literature review methodology (draft and final)

• Draft scoping literature review findings and preliminary evidence gap maps (individual ones for each focus area)

• Presentation to Executive staff

• Final report, scoping review findings, and evidence gap maps (individual ones for each focus area) Services

The Customer requires a Supplier to provide expert evidence review and synthesis, and data visualisation services to deliver a structured horizon scan and evidence gap mapping project to validate and conduct a scoping literature review of 5 priority focus areas for work health and safety research, produce visual representations of the existing evidence base and gaps, and highlight opportunities for future research.

The Supplier must:

• validate the known and emerging WHS issues and trends aligned to the 5 research focus areas outlined above, using horizon scanning techniques

• conduct a scoping literature review to map the breadth of evidence available across these research focus areas, identifying the scope and nature of available evidence and any gaps in the literature

• visually represent the strength and breadth of existing evidence for each focus areas, highlight key gaps and opportunities for future research using evidence review and gap map techniques, identify whether there are further opportunities overlooked beyond the identified focus areas, and

• present to and consult with key stakeholders to generate opportunities for WHS and workers’ compensation researchers, organisations, and policy bodies that can help to address identified evidence gaps.